Steve Blake
Steven Hanson "Steve" Blake (born February 26, 1980) is an American professional basketball point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously, he played for the Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers. Amateur career High school Blake spent his freshman and sophomore year at Miami Killian High School and then transferred to Miami High School, where he played with another future NBA player, Udonis Haslem. Miami won consecutive state championships, but after the Miami New Times exposed the fact that Blake and other players, under current South Carolina head coach Frank Martin, were using fake addresses to enroll in the school, the Stingarees were forced to forfeit their entire 1998 schedule. After the FHSAA banned him from playing for any public high school in Florida again, Blake attended Oak Hill Academy before enrolling at the University of Maryland. College After high school, he attended the University of Maryland. Blake was the team's starter from the first game of his freshman year and was the first ACC player to compile 1,000 points, 800 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals. He finished his career 5th in NCAA all-time career assists with 972. Widely known for his superb passing ability, Blake helped lead the Terrapins to a Final Four appearance (2001) and the 2002 NCAA championship; less well known for his scoring, Blake did average eleven points per game in his senior year. He averaged over six assists per game in each of his four years, including averages of 7.9 and 7.1 in 2002 and 2003, respectively. For his efforts, he was named to a variety of all-ACC teams during his career, including the rookie and defensive squads, capped by a first-team All-ACC spot his senior year. At the start of the 2003–04 basketball season, Blake's uniform number (25) became only the 15th to be retired to the rafters of Maryland's Comcast Center. NBA career Washington Blake was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 38th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. He averaged 5.9 points, 2.8 assists, and 18.6 minutes per game while playing in 75 games his rookie season with the Wizards. In his second season Blake's playing time decreased to 14.7 minutes and only 44 games played. In September 2005, Blake (then a restricted free agent with the Wizards) was offered a contract by the Portland Trail Blazers, which the Wizards declined to match. This became the second reunion with former Maryland Terrapin and Washington Wizards backcourt teammate Juan Dixon, who also signed with the Trail Blazers in the 2005 off-season. In Blake's first season with the Blazers, he became a starter and played a significant role when Sebastian Telfair was injured. Blake's playing time increased from 14.7 minutes and 44 games with only one start in 2004–05 to 26.2 minutes and 68 games with 57 starts in 05–06. Blake reestablished himself as a terrific passer and fundamental point guard claiming third in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio. He also increased his field goal percentage by 11%. Milwaukee In July 2006, Blake was traded (along with Brian Skinner and Ha Seung-Jin) to the Milwaukee Bucks for Jamaal Magloire.[5] Denver On January 11, 2007, Blake was traded to the Denver Nuggets in return for Earl Boykins and Julius Hodge. Blake started in 40 of the 49 remaining games of the Nuggets' 2006–07 season, and in five playoff games in a 4–1 first-round loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Portland Blake became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2007, and agreed to a three-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers on July 13, 2007.[7] The 2008–09 season saw a rise in Blake's numbers. Through his first 38 games, he averaged a career-high 11.7 points per game, while also achieving career highs in free throw percentage and three-point percentage.[8] On February 22, 2009, Blake tied an NBA record with 14 assists in the first quarter of a game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Los Angeles Lakers On July 8, 2010, Blake officially signed a four-year $16 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. In his first season for the Lakers, Blake averaged 4 points in 20 minutes per game. He missed games due to chicken pox. In his second season, he averaged 5.2 points in 23.2 minutes per game. He also played 5 of 53 games as a starter. He dealt with a costochondral fracture (fractured cartilage connecting the rib to the sternum). He was a disappointment in those first two seasons under coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense and then coach Mike Brown's post-up offense, neither of which catered to his natural read-and-react skills.[12] In the 2012–13 season, his training camp was spoiled when he punctured his foot stepping on a spike strip in a beach parking lot. In November 2012, Blake was fined $25,000 by the NBA for inappropriate language towards a fan. He started five straight games after a knee injury to starter Steve Nash. However, Blake was sidelined starting in November after suffering an abdominal strain that required surgery. He experienced groin problems during his recovery before returning in late January after missing 37 games. He was more comfortable playing under coach Mike D'Antoni, who had replaced Brown early in the season. In the playoffs that season, Blake left Game 2 in the first round against San Antonio after injuring his right hamstring and was declared out indefinitely. NBA career statistics Regular season Playoffs Category:Roster